Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I was released through the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare service on October 11, 2010. The game has a price point of 1,500 Wii Points, which is the equivalent of $15. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I was co-developed by Dimps and Sonic Team.
The debut game-play hours below are for the United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide. So, from October 11 through November 22, how many hours have Wii owners spent in Sonic's new 2.5D universe? Let's take a look!
Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I has 7,983 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, on its debut on the Nintendo Channel 43 days after its release.
Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I has 52,305 Total Hours of game-play reported on its debut, with an average play-time of 6 Hours 33 Minutes "Per person" reporting data.
The debut average play-time, per session, for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is just over 1 Hour 11 Minutes.
Sales Info:
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is currently in the #2 spot, out of 20; in the WiiWare's "Popular Titles" section.
Based on the approximate number of gamers reporting data, and the $15 price of the game, Sega has made around $119,745 off the WiiWare version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I.
This reported total Sega has made from the WiiWare version is only from Wii owners that report their game-play data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.
Review Score Average:
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I's review score average is 75.62%, based on 13 reviews on GameRankings.com.
Thoughts:
If the average play-time "Per person", 6 Hours 33 Minutes, is how long it takes to complete the game on a single play-through, I think the price tag of $15 is fair.
I haven't purchased/played Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, so I don't know how long the game takes to complete the first time.
I think it's interesting to note, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I took 43 days for game-play data to appear, while another popular 2D franchise game earlier this year, Mega Man 10, took 50 days for game-play data to appear.
If you're a Sonic fan, and haven't seen any game-play footage from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, here is a brief game-play trailer:
Questions:
If you purchased Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, which version did you purchase, and what do you think of the game? Is Sonic the Hedgehog 4 a Sonic game you would recommend to fans of past 2D Sonic games?
If you are interested in downloading Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, you can use a credit/debit card directly on the Wii Shop Channel, or you can purchase a Wii Points card as shown below for the WiiWare version:
Is 43 days a particularly long time before you see the gameplay stats on Nintendo Channel? I see that the new GoldenEye only took 21 days, but that also seems like a particularly hyped and well selling game.
ReplyDeleteI bought the WiiWare version, just cause the Wii is what I have. The game is.....oh man I love it. I've spent over 18 hours beating the game and working on better and better time-attack runs. It was actually the only game I was playing for weeks, which isn't something I get out of a WiiWare title often. I only recently got the last Chaos Emerald which means I need to play all the levels again and go for even faster times with the powers of Super Sonic.
Now would I recommend it to other 2D Sonic fans? Tough question. It depends on which ones they liked. If they only love the Genesis games, and have just scoffed at every game Sonic has been in since, then....no. I think the classic Sonic gameplay is intact, but I've just heard too many of those types of people complaining on message boards.
If they loved the recent 2D Sonic games, like Rush or Advance, then absolutely yes. Dimps knows how to make a fantastic Sonic game in my opinion, and the same kind of design philosophies are in Episode 1.
Now if they loved the Genesis games, and like or love some of his 3D games, but just never got around to playing any Advance or Rush games......then I guess I'd recommend it. It's only $15, and has online leaderboards, which none of the now cheaper Advance series or the first Rush have.
@WesFX:
ReplyDelete"Is 43 days a particularly long time before you see the gameplay stats on Nintendo Channel?"
No, that's actually really fast for a WiiWare game, as many WiiWare games are lucky if they even show up within 6-12 months of their release.
I think right now, this is the fastest WiiWare game debut I have recorded.
I haven't read a lot on the game, and didn't realize it has online leaderboards, which is something I would like.
Also, considering you have spent over 18 hours with the game, I think shows that it does have some excellent replay value.
Thanks a lot for the feedback! Anybody else have any thoughts on it?
Haven't gotten it yet. My son's been asking me about it though, so I may pick it up. If I was to pick a system - probably my PS3 (I believe it's out there on all 3 consoles, right?). My ps3 has the most storage space currently, so that's my only real reason in this case to pick one over another.
ReplyDeleteWell to be clear, most of that was spent getting the Chaos Emeralds and Time Attack. By all accounts, just beating the levels and bosses is rather easy, and even if you had trouble it isn't structured like the Genesis games. I mean, you can select any level you want as soon as you beat the first one, and if you lose all your lives, then the levels you beat are still beaten.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, if you're interested in that, you can get a lot out of it.
And if you're deciding between versions, there nothing particularly special about the WiiWare version besides getting 6 saves files (compared to 1 per account everywhere else). Some people say they like the music more since they had to use slightly different sounds for size constraints and they think it sounds more like Genesis music, and the menus and such are more pleasant since they fit the game style. The others are HD and have Achievements/Trophies.
@Chalgyr:
ReplyDeleteI didn't even really think about the storage being an issue now...my Wii's memory is basically full, but I use an SD card now also.
My PS3 has lots of memory available though.
@WesFX:
Yea, I figured you spent the time collecting the extras in the game, not just in a single play-through.
I wonder if perhaps the PS3 and 360 version will possibly go on sale, since WiiWare titles have never done so; that could be reason to wait and see for a little.
Thanks for the feedback again!